sUSPENSION/STRUTS/SHOCKS PROBLEMS

[Jagalag]

i'VE HEARD FROM cONSUMER REPORTS THAT the Gen 1's are notorious for problems with their suspension systems, is this trus and what should one look for if that's happening??

[toyomoho]

The V6 Camry and Avalon is almost the same car. Might check the Camry Gen_3-4 posts.

I don’t think the problems were major. The suspension has a few problems with noisy front and rear suspension bushings; upper shock mounts wear out, stabilizer bar bushings. Toyota has TSB’s on many of these issues.

[RStocker1]

Originally Posted by toyomoho

...Toyota has TSB’s on many of these issues.

Sorry if this question has an obvious answer, but where could I find these TSB's? I'm having a vibration problem at speed, and the guy who balanced my tires said I have a bad "strut tower". The book doesn't show a "strut tower"...it has Suspension Support, Bearing, Spring Upper Seat, Upper Insulator, and Spring Bumper (any of which he could have been talking about).

[smuook]

Let me know if this is what you are looking for:

http://www.avalonfaq.com/files/frontsuspensionnoise.pdf

[smuook]

This one might help also:

http://www.avalonfaq.com/files/steeringnoise.pdf

[RStocker1]

Looks like it might be it. Have you (or anyone else) ever replaced those, or should it be done at a dealership (my '98 is LONG out of warranty). And did it help the problem?

[blh]

I recently sold a 95 that I purchased new. It had 120,000 plus on it and I never had any front end problems except replacing the rack and pinion because of a leak. It was the most trouble free car I have ever owened.

[luvlegs]

We had a problem like that - if you hit a pothole, you thought you had just torn out the front wheel!
In 2000, the dealer replaced one strut on our '99 (at about 23k) - AFTER first sending the wife home with it telling her "the bolts were loose" - a pebble in the road sounded like the frame was hitting the ground. I took it back and told them "uh-uh" something is wrong with the strut - they just replaced it and that was that (no arguement or anything). It made a huge difference. When we hit 90k, I got a good deal on a new set so I did them both - it was like the original was "bottoming out"... after that, it was like riding on cloud 9 - nice and smooth... easy enough to do with at home too (I think after that, I had the alingment checked........I hope I did...........

[avalontom]

Jagalog,

Yeah, I used factory parts & replaced all 4 struts and mounts. Ride didn't change much, but handling was back to normal and all the weird front end noises disappeared. You need a spring compressor (Harbor Frt has a cheap one) and a good tool set. It's not a job for the faint of heart.

Others can comment on KYB and other brands; I just wanted the security of having parts that fit.

Good luck!

Tom

[RStocker1]

Originally Posted by avalontom

...It's not a job for the faint of heart.

Yeah, I've only got about 36k on mine, and I was wondering about just replacing the old mounts with the new ones from the TSB.